Hoffman George D, Lande Claire, Rao Sujaya
Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN.
Environ Entomol. 2018 Dec 7;47(6):1465-1470. doi: 10.1093/ee/nvy162.
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) are effective pollinators of many crops but are thought to be inefficient in pollinating blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) due to their inability to buzz pollinate. Nonetheless, commercial growers rent honey bee hives for pollination, resulting in the dominance of honey bee workers visiting flowers during bloom. The objective of this study was to examine where on the honey bee pollen is carried and how it is transferred from flower to bee to the stigma of other flowers. Examination of 90 honey bee workers foraging on blueberry flowers documented that blueberry pollen tetrads were present on all body parts. Relative amounts were as follows: head 12%, body 6%, legs 19%, and tarsi 63%. Quantities on the body subregions ranged from an average of 400 tetrads on the basitarsi to 16 on the fore tarsal claws. Thus, a single contact between many of the pollen-carrying body parts and a stigma has the potential to transfer significant amounts of pollen. The study also revealed that bee behaviors unrelated to the intentional collection of nectar and pollen, such as the frequent touching of stigmas by the claws, tarsi, or legs, while foraging, grooming, and walking across flower clusters, could result in pollen transfer. These contacts occurred 65.9% of the time a honey bee landed on a flower cluster. These findings have broad implications for future assessments of the efficiencies of various bee species in pollinating diverse crops and plants.
蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂Apis mellifera L.（膜翅目：蜜蜂科））是许多作物的有效传粉者，但由于其无法进行振颤传粉，被认为在给蓝莓（越橘Vaccinium corymbosum L.）授粉方面效率低下。尽管如此，商业种植者仍租用蜂箱用于授粉，导致花期时蜜蜂工蜂在访花中占主导地位。本研究的目的是检查蜜蜂身上携带花粉的部位，以及花粉如何从花朵转移到蜜蜂身上，再转移到其他花朵的柱头上。对90只在蓝莓花上觅食的蜜蜂进行检查发现，蓝莓花粉四分体存在于蜜蜂身体的所有部位。相对数量如下：头部12%、身体6%、腿部19%、跗节63%。身体各亚区域的数量范围从基跗节平均400个四分体到前跗爪的16个四分体。因此，许多携带花粉的身体部位与柱头之间的一次接触就有可能转移大量花粉。该研究还表明，蜜蜂在觅食、梳理和穿过花丛时，与有意采集花蜜和花粉无关的行为，如爪子、跗节或腿部频繁触碰柱头，可能导致花粉转移。蜜蜂降落在花丛上时，这些接触发生的概率为65.9%。这些发现对未来评估各种蜜蜂物种给不同作物和植物授粉的效率具有广泛意义。
